Ricoh GR vs. Nikon Coolpix A Review

Dynamic Range and Detail

Another advantage of large-sensor cameras is their ability to render more detail and have a wider dynamic range.  As we will not be performing a full evaluation of the true dynamic range of the GR and the Coolpix A, you should refer to other review sites such as DxoMark and DPReview for this information. 

After exensive use in the field, we found the shadow and highlight detail from both the GR and the Coolpix A to be excellent and better by far than what the GRD IV can deliver.  We therefore don't expect blown highlights or dark shadows to ever be a major issue when shooting with the Nikon or the GR.

In order to test the dynamic range of the three cameras, we shot the scene below in RAW format, and set each camera to overexpose by about 4 stops (we used the same settings on each camera):

We then proceeded to recover the highlights in Adobe Camera Raw.  The results (below) also illustrate the resolution advantage that the GR and Coolpix A hold over the GRD IV.

Coolpix A - Click to enlarge

GR - Click to enlarge

GRD IV- Click to enlarge